Val Chmerkovskiy Slams DWTS Romances: ‘Don’t S— Where You Eat’

Val Chmerkovskiy has some thoughts about mixing competition and pleasure on Dancing With the Stars.

In an appearance on the “Lightweights Podcast,” the three-time winner told host Joe Vulpis that he no longer finds it wholly appropriate for celeb contestants to pursue relationships with their pro partners on the show.

“Long time ago, my first couple of seasons, I’ve been given partners that I did have romantic exchanges with—incredibly unprofessional to do so in my mind,” he said on the show’s December 3 episode. “Because I’m here as their teacher and as their partner, and I’m probably, in some way or another, in a position of authority to them. Like, don’t s–t where you eat kind of thing comes into play.”

He added, “Behind closed doors, I undermined my own season by doing that.”

In addition to his wife, Jenna Johnson, whom he met on the show when she joined as a troupe member in 2014, Chmerkovskiy, 38, has also been linked to his season 19 partner, Janel Parrish, and season 23 contestant Amber Rose. He and Johnson married in 2019 and had son Rome in 2023.

Chmerkovskiy expanded, saying that he doesn’t think it’s responsible to allow a romance to interfere with the competition of DWTS.

“I’m very serious about my job and my craft,” he said. “And so to have allowed myself to get involved during—now after this season, that’s different. We’re both adults, we’re not at work. But during the season, I feel like that was a bit irresponsible at times.”

Chmerkovskiy then acknowledged that other pairs are free to take a different view and pursue something — as long as it’s authentic. “But when it’s two adults putting on a show,” he said, “because they know they can manipulate the algorithm to give them more likes and more views and more this — I just don’t like anything that’s inauthentic.”

He also conceded that on-screen romances make for “a really dope show.”

The evolution of social media has played a role in Chmerkovskiy changing his tune.

“Social media wasn’t as vibrant as it is right now,” he said of the start of his DWTS run. “It was only tabloids and stuff like that. But social media has now, like, really elevated the game.”

Chmerkovskiy added that as important as chemistry is on Dancing With the Stars, an overtly sexual element isn’t always necessary. He pointed to Johnson’s partnership with Bachelor alum Joey Graziadei. The two took home the Mirrorball Trophy by winning season 33 last month.

“Chemistry doesn’t always have to have a sexual essence behind it,” he said. “Chemistry is camaraderie. Chemistry is compatibility. Chemistry is friendship. When you trust somebody, you open up to somebody.”